


Fantasy

by ProseApothecary



Category: Masters of Sex
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 23:50:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21006218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProseApothecary/pseuds/ProseApothecary
Summary: “Nonsense. You just need a bedtime story. Tessa can’t get to sleep without one either.”“Really, Virginia, I’m not a child-”“She always wants to hear about damsels in distress, saved by dashing men. But that’s not the life I want her to idolise. So, we came to a compromise. Each night, I tell her a story, about a princess without a prince.”





	Fantasy

“Guess what arrived in my mail today,” Virginia says, pulling a letter from her bag.

Lillian raises an eyebrow. Laying in her bed after a day full of treatments is not putting her in the mood for guessing games.

Virginia clears her throat and reads. “Miss Johnson. I cannot pretend to understand what would convince a woman to take on your line of work. I can only imagine that you revel in being a temptress who hopes to bring about the end of the civilised world. I can but beg you to reconsider.”

“I had no idea,” Virginia says, folding up the letter, and smiling at Lillian, “that you wrote fan mail. But I think it may be the best performance review I’ve ever received.”

Lillian gives her a look. “I don’t recall ever calling you a_ temptress._”

“And don’t think I haven’t taken that personally.”

Lillian shifts, uncomfortable on the mattress.

“You don’t have to stay,” she says. It’s been an hour, and she’s awake as ever.

“Nonsense. You just need a bedtime story. Tessa can’t get to sleep without one either.”

“Really, Virginia, I’m not a child-”

“She always wants to hear about damsels in distress, saved by dashing men. But that’s not the life I want her to idolise. So, we came to a compromise. Each night, I tell her a story, about a princess without a prince.”

“Ah,” says Lillian, who has an inkling of where this conversation is going, and wants to derail it. “An ungainly princess.”

Virginia shakes her head. “She’s achingly beautiful. Her hair is the night sky, her skin is covered in stars, and her eyes are blue moons.”

Lillian attempts an eyeroll. “Perhaps she should’ve been an astronaut.”

“She could have. But she feels a duty to the women of her kingdom, half of whom have been trapped by dragons.”

“Bad neighbourhood.”

“Very bad. And the noblemen are utterly _useless_. So she decides it’s up to her. To slay these dragons. Not everyone appreciates it. Some of the women wish they were being saved by princes. Some of the men wish _they_ were being saved. Some wish they were doing the saving.”

“She passes down her sword,” Lillian finishes. “to a peasant, who’s more interested in its value than its capabilities. And hopes that the work is not as easily forgotten as she will be.”

“She passes her sword down to a nobleman,” Virginia corrects. “And though no man can wield it as well as she, her loyal servant ensures that her work and her achievements live on forever.”

“Oh, now there’s a loyal servant?” Lillian asks dryly.

“Well, she’s not that important to the whole operation,” Virginia says. “Dragon slaying isn’t really her calling. Dragon slayers, on the other hand…”

“She’s truly expert on how to handle _those_,” Lillian says, the corners of her mouth turning up

“Precisely,” Virginia says, matching her smile. “That’s the part she enjoys. She couldn’t carry on the job without it.”

“This dragon slayer must be truly charismatic.”

Virginia cocks her head, wearing that same incisive smile.

“You said charismatic. Which word did you _mean_ to use?”

Lillian can’t help but laugh.

Virginia smooths back the hair from Lillian’s forehead.

“Perhaps mysterious. Dedicated. Disciplined. Funny, up until the point she tries to tell an actual joke.”

“Grateful,” Lillian manages to get out, before she drifts off. “Truly grateful.”

The hand at her brow pauses, just for a second, before continuing on its path, sending Lillian off to sleep.


End file.
